South Korea Bourse May Find Traction On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had skyrocketed more than 230 points or 9.4 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,430-point plateau although it's looking at a steady start on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on continuing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following heavy profit taking among the financials, industrials and technology and energy stocks.

For the day, the index stumbled 58.41 points or 2.33 percent to finish at 2,433.96. Volume was 447.6 million shares worth 11.38 trillion won. There were 634 decliners and 244 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial stumbled 2.91 percent, while KB Financial crashed 6.10 percent, Hana Financial surrendered 3.31 percent, Samsung SDI plunged 7.91 percent, LG Electronics declined 1.80 percent, SK Hynix tumbled 1.95 percent, Naver slumped 2.43 percent, LG Chem tanked 5.57 percent, Lotte Chemical added 0.38 percent, S-Oil dropped 1.29 percent, SK Innovation plummeted 7.07 percent, POSCO cratered 11.02 percent, SK Telecom skidded 1.10 percent, KEPCO advanced 0.82 percent, Hyundai Mobis weakened 1.75 percent, Hyundai Motor sank 1.01 percent, Kia Motors retreated 1.90 percent and Samsung Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages shook off early weakness to quickly move higher and finish with modest gains.

The Dow added 56.74 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 34,152.74, while the NASDAQ jumped 121.08 points or 0.90 percent to end at 13,639.86 and the S&P 500 rose 12.40 points or 0.28 percent to close at 4,378.38.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street as traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. But selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, with continued optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributing to the rebound.

The rebound by stocks also came as treasury yields showed a notable move back to the downside after surging in the previous session.

Traders also looked ahead to speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today and Thursday. Powell is due to deliver opening remarks at the Division of Research and Statistics Centennial Conference and participate in a policy panel discussions.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the outlook for fuel demand offset recent decisions by Russia and Saudi Arabia to extend production cuts to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $3.45 or 4.3 percent at $77.37 a barrel.